SELFISHNESS (1)
SELFISHNESS (1)
Romans 15:3 (NASB)
3 “For even Christ did not please Himself; but as it is written, ‘THE REPROACHES OF THOSE WHO REPROACHED YOU FELL ON ME’.”
Selfishness comes easy for us because we all tend to be this way at one time or another. Learning to deal with ourselves and overcome our selfishness is going to determine the extent of how much God will use us. If we are selfish, we will be more concerned about doing our will instead of the will of God. The result is a hindrance in our ministry for Christ. Selfishness affects our marriage. A selfish spouse creates dissension with their spouse. A husband or wife that is concerned about the needs of their mate creates more intimacy and love in the relationship.
Charles Finney said, “Selfishness consists in dethroning reason from the seat of government and enthroning blind desire in opposition to it. Selfishness is always and by necessity unreasonable. It is a denial of that divine attribute that allies human beings to God and makes us capable of virtue. Selfishness dethrones reason and sinks human beings to the level of a brute. It is a contempt for the voice of God within him. Shame on selfishness! It dethrones human reason.”
When we get selfish, bitterness tends to take hold of our lives. We get the “Look at what they did to me” attitude. An unforgiving attitude also develops as we proclaim, “I’ve been wronged!” Selfishness makes us greedy, and greed makes us selfish. We reason, “I’ve got to have more no matter who gets in my way.” It is this kind of thinking that destroys us and others. It does not make us happy, but miserable. Selfishness can be conquered. It is through the help of the Holy Spirit that we can conquer our selfish desires and be concerned about the needs of others. As we look from Genesis to Revelation, we find a number of biblical principles that pertain to the topic of selfishness. We will look at the following areas that pertain to selfishness.
I. Some Commands that Involve Selfishness
1. Selfish men are to be avoided because they are difficult to trust.
Proverbs 23:6 (KJV)
6 “Eat thou not the bread of him that hath an evil eye, neither desire thou his dainty meats.”
Proverbs 23:6 (NASB)
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6 “Do not eat the bread of a selfish man or desire his delicacies.”
Proverbs 23:6 (NKJV)
6 “Do not eat the bread of a miser, nor desire his delicacies.”
Proverbs 23:6 (ESV)
6 “Do not eat the bread of a man who is stingy; do not desire his delicacies.”
The phrase “hath an evil eye” means “one who is stingy, selfish, or miserly.” The “evil eye” refers to a person who is out to get everything for himself. This is the opposite of the “good eye” which meant the generous man. We are not to have close fellowship with selfish people. We tend to become like those we spend our time with. Another reason we are not to eat with selfish men is they sometimes have a motive for feeding you, their delicacies. They want something from you. Their generosity is not sincere.
Please allow me to share an excerpt from way back when I was in college in 1973 studying British History to illustrate the point: On board the steamer with Lord Lawrence, the Governor-General of India, was a lady with her infant child. She utterly neglected the baby, which revenged itself by crying day and night. The passengers complained in language more forcible than polite. “Steward, throw that baby overboard!” was shouted, again and again, from sleepless berths.
At last, Lord Lawrence, seeing that the child was left motherless by its own mother, took it on his knee. For hours he would hold it, showing it his watch and anything that would amuse it. The child took to the great strong man and was always quiet when he held it. “Why do you, my lord,” asked one of the relieved passengers, surprised to see the Governor-General of India playing nurse to a crying baby, “why do you take notice of that child?” “Because, to tell you the truth,” answered Lord Lawrence jocosely, and with a merry twinkle in his eye, “that child is the only being in the ship who I can feel quite sure does not want to get anything out of me, so I take pleasure in his company.”